The Demon Within
by Linguistic
Summary: The magical blast from Gladstone's staff destroys Nathaniel's Body.. But not his soul. Finding himself reincarnated as a spirit within the Other Place, Nathaniel is summoned to earth two years after the events in Ptolemy's Gate.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Bartimaeus Trilogy. The Bartimaes Trilogy belongs to Jonathen Stroud.

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There was a flash of white light. A thousand burning pinpricks blasted his eyes. Then.. Silence.

Nathaniel felt his body disintegrate, his eyes turned to ash right before his.. Well eyes. What was happening? His body was gone and yet he could still see? It was wrong, all wrong. And yet.. He could feel his spirit rising, purple sparks jumping too and fro off his body and person.. Where was he going?

A darkness appeared. He could feel his bonds break. He was beyond the realm of earth, beyond the dimension he had resided for all his life.. But where was that, his life? And then? There was a flash, other spirits surrounded him, swirling around him, he felt at peace.. Ah.. How he could just fade.. Fade away. His spirit fell apart, freely intermingling with the others.. Ah.. Such a feeling of bliss, bliss and contentment. He could remain here forever..

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Kitty glanced at her book wearily, inside it a dozen names of Djinn, Afrits and other higher spirits. But somehow her heart wasn't in it.. It hadn't been. Not since that incident two years ago.. A hot tear dripped down her cheek. Dead, gone.. He had left this earth, ascending to a world beyond this realm.

And what about Bartimaeus? Was he still around? She still hadn't worked up the courage to summon him, clinging to the faint hope that he had survived. She crossed the floor to the drawn pentacle, she had a few questions that needed answers and she hoped that the foliot, Aremedes, could solve them..

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As Nathaniel drifted peacefully among the swirling mass he thought of Kitty. It was his sole regret he couldn't find her, speak to her even.. He made a whirl.. If only he could see but one glimpse of her, continuing her daily life.. It made it sad. He would never see her again.. He spun back, only to be caught by a minor tug. What? The force of the tug continued, like a hook digging into him. His drifting bits of soul ripped out of the maelstrom. The power forcing them to flow in the direction of.. Earth?!

He materialized in a small room, his soul forming its preferred shape, his old body, now long gone. The walls of this place were buttercup yellow, with plain white curtains hanging from the small window shaft.. It reeked of rosemary, and despite himself Nathaniel drew back.. How strange. He had never had a problem with it in his life..

Standing across from him was a small man who Nathaniel did not recognize. He was dressed in a plain black suit and was sweating profusely, like he had just performed a major summoning. Odd. Nathaniel looked around the room, there were no demons in sight. The man paused, drawing his breath,

"Demon! I am your master!"

Nathaniel drew back startled, a demon? Where? To whom was this man referring?.. Nathaniel had already checked the room on all four planes! If there was anything he would have spotted it.. Wait.. What? He checked his eyes, no lenses.. How could he see on all four planes? Something strange was going on, there was no doubt about it. For the first time Nathaniel noticed that the man was standing in a pentacle. Nathaniel moved closer, to see what it was..

There was a blast, Nathaniel's essence was sent reeling. He feel back into the circle. Headfirst. Around him were a series of white chalk lines, inscribed with runes. His magicians training kicked in.. He was in a pentacle..


	2. Chapter 2

Warning, this chapter may contain language not suitable for children under the age of one, viewer discretion is advised. Lol, this page is ok. The teen rating won't come into affect until later pages. Thank you for the reviews. I'd say your names but, I'm just too lazy right now.

I do not own the Bartimaeus trilogy, the Bartimaeus Trilogy belongs to Jonathen Stroud.

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James Flash was a magician of great caliber and the third to inherit his name, he was feared throughout Prague and on the rise in the Czech government. He had several djinn at his command, and it was whispered that he summoned Afrits on a regular basis. So it was no difficulty for him to summon this new entity, this Nathaniel.

He guessed from the strain it took to summon him, that Nathaniel was an extremely powerful Djinn, almost verging on Afrit. It seemed a very fresh spirit, James wouldn't have been surprised if this was his first summoning. He decided to inquire further,

"Demon, do you know where you are?"

he asked slowly, careful to slow down his words. Most higher spirits were fairly adept at understanding language, and even the newly summoned could speak rudimentary english. When the demon spoke, Flash was surprised. More often then not a demon who was new to earth, would speak in fluctuating tones, making it hard for their master to understand. This demon however, had a perfect vocablary and even a British accent.

"I am on Earth. I do not know where, though by your accent I would guess Prague."

it intoned. Flash nodded. Good, this demon wasn't totally stupid, perfect for the assignment he had chosen for it.

--

Kitty walked down the cold street, bundling up her coat in order to avoid the downpour. She glanced around, looking for shelter, choosing the nearest building available.

It was a small brick coffee shop, the kind she had spent many hours in, studying hard to unravel the mysteries of demons and their magicians. She entered, the door closing with a loud click. The shop attendant glanced up from his newpaper lazily, not even bothering to wipe the tomato seeds from the corner of his mouth. He motioned slowly for Kitty to take a seat, sitting up straighter as he noticed her good looks.

She was glad her beauty had returned. After her journey into the other place, Kitty had received a veritable network of wrinkles. It had bothered her, but thankfully, they had faded with time. The attendant brought her a steaming hot coffee, saying it was 'on the house' for such a pretty girl. Kitty ignored him. She had no intention of taking up his unspoken offer, she hadn't been interested in romance since that night two years ago. She took a dusty book out of her bag and began to read.

---

The magician's orders had been simple and to the point. Nathaniel had been called here for a minor investigation and some surveillance. There had recently been attacks on several prominent Czech magicians, and James Flash wanted to find out why. There was worry it could be Britain, hoping to regain its dominance over its former empire.

Nathaniel walked casually down the street, careful to avoid passing cats. He wasn't sure how strong a spirit he was, if he was a minor imp then he wanted to avoid anything that could see on more then one plane. There was an ache in his shoulders, one of the many downsides of being a demon. Physically being here, on this earth, left his soul exposed, without a material body to protect it.

He crossed a muddy street, careful to avoid the rats that had surfaced to eat the street muck. From here he could see the Maison Frais, or the 'strawberry house' in his native english. Inside sat several scholars, noses pressed into dusty books, that looked at least fifty years old. Nathaniel knew better, oldness was a style many magicians favored, and he guessed that at least half the scholars here and some magical training.

Among these bookworms was a dark haired girl, whom Nathaniel thought he recognized.. She looked almost like.. No! It couldn't be. Why wasn't she in London.. Why would she be here?


	3. Chapter 3

**The scene descriptions might get a bit uh.. Gory? Graphic? But it's not so bad. And I know my chapters are short, I trying to work on it.**

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For an instant they stared at each other, their eyes caught and held, and even though the instant could not have been more then a second, it seemed to Nathaniel, that it would last forever.

An eternity passed, nobody moved. Then..

There was a blast.. Huge, spectacular, and utterly unnecessary, like a sucker punch to baby. It flung Nathaniel off his feet and through the air, at a speed that would have astonished even a bird, if the blast hadn't already knocked them senseless. He tumbled on his knees with a force that would have broken the bones of his old, human body, and even as he was, it scraped his essence badly.

For a moment h was stunned, then he pushed himself up, and began to look around.

Dead bodies lay bleeding on mangled, ruinous streets. The sewer pipe had ruptured and was now spilling its rotten contents across the square, and the place was in a deadly silent, like an old morgue. For a while, nothing moved, for a while Nathaniel was too shocked to move, let alone investigate. He lay their panting, trying to reassure himself that he was alright, alive, and safe. That was, until he saw a flicker of movement on the sixth plane.

It was like a shadow, fleeting and faint, and for a moment it seemed like a blink of insanity.

But then, after a moment's hesitation, they came.

Like a horde, the wicked demons burst forth from behind walls, under broken stalls, and from the ruptured sewer pipe itself. Each one wore a skeletal guise, complete with bloody fangs, and empty eye sockets. Each one had a face that was twisted with sadness, anger, and hate. Obviously faked, but the effect was terrifying, and they were running towards Nathaniel.

With a bolt he shot upright. There was no time to think, he had to act! The demons would be on him in seconds if he didn't do something immediately. Nathaniel forced himself to concentrate, and readied himself for escape, he thought he might even transform into a bird. Nathaniel had seen demons do it countless times before; surely it couldn't be that difficult?

After a moment's thought he took a breath (totally unnecessary, considering that he _was _already dead after all) he concentrated on the first bird that came to mind, willing his body to assume its shape. And it seemed for a moment that nothing would happened, no change, no shift, no anything. But then, after another moment, Nathaniel felt his arms melt, like heated clay, and began to shift.

And slowly, ever so slowly it seemed, considering the charging army, Nathaniel transformed himself into an eagle. It wasn't perfect, and the design was incredibly lopsided, but Nathaniel had no doubt that he could fly, and for a moment, the ache he had felt since coming to Earth faded, and in this moment he felt free. With delight he spread his wings, and was preparing to take off, when something he had momentarily forgotten came back to his mind.

Kitty!

He had completely forgotten about her. It was so strange, he had just seen her again, and then suddenly, for a second, he forgot her. He hoped she was alive.

He glanced over his shoulder at the Maison Frais, where he had just seen her. It had caved in, but it had faired better then most other houses. Twitching hands and legs protruded from under the walls, and from one gap there was a mass of dark hair.

The hair was unmistakably Kitty's.

And even in his fear for himself, Nathaniel knew that if he didn't rescue her now, she would perish, resilience and all, to the oncoming demonic horde. With something akin to a second sense, he lunged, as fast as his misshapen bird form would carry him.

His talons found her hair quickly, and with a strong flap he continued pulling her out until her arms were bared. He glanced back and saw, that the army of demons was closing in behind him, he felt incredibly exposed.

Then with a screech, he grasped her shoulders and pushed off the group, willing himself to be strong enough to carry them both.

Nathaniel muscles strained, his wings flapped, at if eagles could sweat, he would have.

But finally, after much effort on Nathaniel's part, Kitty was lifted off the ground and into the air. Behind the pair, the demon army closed, and raised and shook their fists angrily, annoyed beyond measure at their loss. They couldn't follow him of course. They were obviously employed by some sort of terrorist magicians, who had probably instructed them to wear the guises continually, in order to remain as terrifying as was possible.

He had to hand it to their masters; they had certainly made it easy to get away. In fact, they had encouraged him to get away, with that gross display of power. Now he had something relevant to report to his master, something interesting. Maybe it would get him a quick rest back in the Other Place. He hoped so, as much as he loved being back on Earth, and seeing Kitty again, it was really beginning to wear him down. _And to think I made Bartimaeus wait it out for two years.. _

A buffet of turbulence reminded Nathaniel of his passenger. She was very heavy, very difficult to carry. He needed to find a safe place to put her, and quickly!

In the distance he spotted a small hill, on the edge of the city. He angled his wings and flew towards it.

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End file.
